| The September 2013 Staff Picks can also be viewed or printed as a PDF Staff Picks September 2013 (1.7MB) |
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SEPTEMBER FEATURE
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| FICTION | ||
 The Last First Day by Carrie Brown. The atmosphere of fall in New England permeates this
subtle novel about growing old while making sense of
life. As the headmaster and wife of a small prep school
prepare to retire, the reader rides the gentle waves of
deep feelings that surge between them as their relationship
comes full circle. Strangely suspenseful, yet
comforting. ~ Karen Frank
Ruth, a woman entering her twilight years, reflects on her marriage to a compassionate prep school headmaster and the mysterious origins of her life with her father, a man of secrets and silences. A pivotal relationship with a wise psychiatrist lends insight to a life in which pain and love are jumbled together in untidy beauty. ~ Amy Palmer |
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 Then We Take
Berlin by John
Lawton. Joe
Holderness (nicknamed
Wilderness),
a Cockney orphan
trained in housebreaking
by his
grandfather, becomes
an MI6 spy in post-WWII occupied
Berlin. Years later, old friends
and enemies lure him back into espionage.
A powerful thriller, exactingly
researched, sharply drawn characters
and locales. First of a new series.
~ Louise Jones |
 The Explanation
For Everything by
Lauren Grodstein. The debate
forever rages between
atheist Darwinists
and those
who believe in Intelligent
Design.
This story articulates all the shades of
grey that are so important to the real
life discussion. Sensitive, haunting
and memorable. ~ Karen Frank |
 MaddAddam by
Margaret Atwood. The stunning
conclusion of
the MaddAddam
Trilogy proves that
compassion and
solidarity are not
signs of weakness,
but necessary traits for survival. An
intense read that increased my faith
in humanity and the power of love.
~ Jess Krawczyk |
 The Fountain of St.
James Court; Or,
Portrait of the Artist
as an Old Woman by Sena Jeter
Naslund.
Naslund tells my
favorite kind of
story - rich with
history, character and conflict, where
research and historical context add
brightness and depth to the story of a
modern writer who channels an historical
figure to feed her own work.
S plendidly absorbing. ~ Karen Frank |
 Enon by Paul
Harding. A man's
life veers wildly
out of control after
the death of
his only child in
this unstinting examination
of willful
self-destruction, beautifully rendered
and all the more harrowing
for its eloquence. A sequel of sorts to
the author's Pulitzer prize-winning
Tinkers. ~ Alden Graves |
 Visitation Street by Ivy Pochoda. On a
summer night in
Brooklyn's multiracial
Red Hook
section, two teenage
girls ride a raft into
the bay; only one returns. Their adventure
reverberates through the
community, changing the lives of
friends, family and observers. Vivid,
stunning, beautifully written.
~ Louise Jones |
 Japantown by
Barry Lancet.
Brodie, an American
antiques dealer,
inherits part of his
father's Tokyo private
investigation
business. When a
Japanese family visiting
San Francisco is murdered, the
only clue a slip of paper with an unusual
Japanese character, Brodie recognizes
it as the same one left at the
scene of his wife's murder years ago.
Highly entertaining. ~ Sarah Knight |
 Night Film by
Marisha Pessl. A brilliant
literary thriller, but
more than that.
Pessl ingeniously
weaves together elements
and themes
of classic horror novels and films
like a master collector of artistic
moments. A truly haunting story
that will consume you for days.
~ Whitney Kaaz |
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 Something Abides:
Discovering the
Civil War in
Today's Vermont by Howard Coffin. County
by county and
town by town, Vermont's
rich Civil
War history comes to light. This
important guide makes you want to
explore and shows how great a sacrifice
our tiny state made. A must for
a native Vermonter. My own ancestor:
Col. Wm. T. Nichols, page 326.
~ Sarah Teunissen |
 The Last of the
Doughboys: The
Forgotten Generation
and Their Forgotten
World by
Richard Rubin.
The past is often
as real as the present;
talking to living
eyewitnesses (all more than 100
years old) proves the point. This
astonishing, hugely rewarding reading
experience shows us why we
love history and reminds us to talk
with older folks: they are, not were,
history. Highest Recommendation.
~ Bill Lewis |
Do you like to talk books?
Join an existing Manchester group:
email Erik ebarnum@northshire.com Saratoga area groups can register for group discount by emailing ReadingGroupsNY@northshire.com 
10th COOKBOOK Indian Home Cooking: A Fresh Introduction to Indian Food by Suvir Saran, Stephanie Lyness 16th DARK SIDE River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard 17th HISTORY The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Vol. IV by Robert A. Caro 19th MYSTERY & THRILLER Lost by Michael Robotham 26th POETRY title TBA |
 Mushroom
Hunters: On the
Trail of an Underground
America by Langdon
Cook. What's
more interesting
than the fungi
themselves? The
people who hunt them. Cook,
an avid amateur mycologist,
hits the trail with the pros. He discovers
a world of secret patches,
cash-only deals, delicious wild food
and some very peculiar people.
~ Stan Hynds |
 JFK'S Last Hundred
Days: The
Transformation
of a Man and
the Emergence
of a Great President by Thurston
Clarke.
After two years of
crises, Kennedy was a very different
president as summer turned to autumn
in 1963. A sensible, well written,
well-argued answer to the 50
year-old question: What if John F.
Kennedy had lived? ~ Bill Lewis |
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 The Time Traveler's
Guide to Elizabethan
England by Ian Mortimer. Learning
should always be
this enjoyable.
Reading Mortimer
is as close as any
21st century reader
(with even an ounce of imagination)
can get to experiencing "what it was
really like." P.S. His Time Traveler's
Guide to Medieval England is just as
good. Highest Recommendation.
~ Bill Lewis |
 The President
and the Assassin by Scott Miller. The paths of
President William
McKinley and an
avowed anarchist
named Leon Czolgosz
draw inexorably
together in this meticulously
researched examination of American
history at the turn of the 20th century.
Engrossing, exciting and vastly
informative reading. ~ Alden Graves |
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 Foldable Reading Glasses.
Beyond regular reading glasses, Twist
& Read Glasses fold completely flat
and fit into an ultrathin case. When
you need them the arms click and
twist into place. Made in Italy and
available in variety of colors and five
strengths. ~ Alison Clark |
 Close to Shore by
Michael Capuzzo. The true
horror story of shark
attacks off the New
Jersey coast in 1916
that served as the basis
for Peter Benchley's
bestseller,
Jaws. Filled with fascinating details
about sharks and the fallacy that
existed well into the 20th century
that they were harmless.
~ Alden Graves |
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